


Magic All Of Its Own (aka ViridianJane's Birthday Bash Round Robin 2018)

by EachPeachPearPlum, golden (Pelydryn), little_dhampir, MoonChat (Moonflower999), Narlth, Nebula5030, rotrude, ViridianJane



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Magic, Merlin's Magic Revealed, gingerbread
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 16:19:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EachPeachPearPlum/pseuds/EachPeachPearPlum, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pelydryn/pseuds/golden, https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_dhampir/pseuds/little_dhampir, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonflower999/pseuds/MoonChat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narlth/pseuds/Narlth, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebula5030/pseuds/Nebula5030, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rotrude/pseuds/rotrude, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViridianJane/pseuds/ViridianJane
Summary: Arthur wants gingerbread. Gwaine is always hungry. And Merlin's magic may have a mind of its own.





	Magic All Of Its Own (aka ViridianJane's Birthday Bash Round Robin 2018)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ViridianJane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViridianJane/gifts).



> Happy happy birthday ViridianJane! It was a lot of fun doing this round robin with you for your birthday in Chat. Wishing you a very happy year and all the good things.
> 
> This story was written in Merlin_Chat as a round robin.  
> If you'd like to get to know us, come find us in Chatzy. Here's the info:  
> http://merlin-chat.livejournal.com
> 
> Come talk about Merlin (or anything else), support each other's creative endeavors, do sprints, rewatch episodes of Merlin (Fridays), etc.
> 
> Thanks to Rotrude for gifting the words that we used as the title!

It all started as a typical day in Camelot, dark clouds covered the sky, and a steady non-stop rain was falling. Despite the heavy rain, Merlin had to run around doing errands for both Gaius and Arthur. Within minutes he looked like a drowned rat.Typical how Arthur always just happened to want something from the furthest corners of Camelot's walls just went the weather was at its worse. Today, he had a hankering for specific kind of gingerbread which could only be purchased down on the south side of the lower town.

Gingerbread. What a joke. Just like pickled eggs, it would just give Arthur gas and Merlin would be the one suffering through the foul smell. It really was a crappy day, and Merlin was sleep-deprived and exhausted and he was really starting to get in a bad mood.

At this rate he was going to be late for his date with Gwaine. Was it a date? He thought it was...the way Gwaine had smiled at him...but then Gwaine flirted with everyone. Merlin was momentarily distracted from his miserable state as he drifted into memories of Gwaine's smile, and the shiver that ran down his spine was not from the cold...though when his teeth started chattering moments later he realized he'd best get warm and dry as soon as possible.

Merlin weaved his way through the crowds of bustling servants and guards, and hoped he'd be able to deliver Arthur's stupid gingerbread and have enough time to clean up. He heard someone call out behind him, and saw a serving girl throw up her hands in disgust at the trail of mud he left behind him. *oops* Grimacing, Merlin kicked off his boots and grabbed hold of the laces, trying not to splatter more mud all up the walls by swinging them too much; he knew how long these floors took to scrub, and it wasn't fair of him to make a mess he wasn't going to be around to clear up.

He entered Arthur's chambers, hoping to just quickly drop off the gingerbread. When he realised the prince wasn't even in his rooms, he became quite annoyed. He dropped the food on the table and contemplated whether to get ready for his date or search for the prince. 

"Ah, Merlin. I thought I'd find you here," came a voice from behind him. Merlin turned around and grinned.

"Hey, Gwaine. Are you ready for..."

Gwaine wandered over to the table with beady eyes. "Ooh, gingerbread?" he asked, reaching out for a piece.

"Wait wait, Gwaine, no! That's not for you!" Merlin said, trying to shield the expensive gingerbread with his body. He managed to stop the knight just as his grabby fingers grazed the gingerbread. Merlin froze, a hand pressed against Gwaine's chest as their breath mingled. 

Of course Gwaine wouldn't be dissuaded that easily. There was delicious food right in front of him, and he was determined to have some. "Come on, Merlin, just a bite? The Princess will never notice." 

"No way! I had to walk through so much mud—" 

But Gwaine just smirked and grabbed at the smallest piece. And just like that, the gingerbread floated up and away. 

Both Merlin and Gwaine froze. Merlin stared at Gwaine in alarm, while Gwaine expression remained unreadable. "Merlin?" Gwaine's mouth quirked at the corners, a little cautious and uneasy. "Wha -" "MERLIN!" Arthur's voice carried down the hall, footsteps thundering and approaching much too quickly. Still frozen, Merlin didn't react quick enough to stop Gwaine from grabbing the gingerbread from midair and shoving it in his mouth. 

Arthur looked from a still-chewing Gwaine to the (enchanted?--Merlin wasn't sure, but he was pretty certain he hadn't made it float, not when he was still trying to work up to the "oh, by the way, I'm actually this super-important prophesied warlock bloke" conversation with Gwaine) gingerbread and on to Merlin, an eyebrow quirked in did I just see what I thought I saw? confusion. "Is that my gingerbread?" he demanded, and Merlin's attempt to come up with an excuse as to why he was seemingly sharing it out was interrupted by Gwaine. 

"Oh, Merlin," he said, a breathlessness to it Merlin had never heard from him before. "Did I ever tell you that my grandmother used a special flour so light and airy that her we had to keep her pastries covered or they’d float away. Arthur, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist taking a bite of your gingerbread when I saw it floating. I miss my dear old granny and her baking so much sometimes.” Gwaine wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulder and began to usher him from the room. “C’mon Merlin, we’re late. Let’s let Arthur enjoy the rest of his gingerbread in peace.”

Gwaine had the door open and Merlin halfway out before Arthur found his voice. "Stop right there you two. Shut the door behind you and sit down. " Arthur shook his head at them slowly, a look of disbelief on his face. 

 

"Arthur, I can ex..." said Merlin. 

"No, Merlin, I can explain. It's all my fault..." began Gwaine. 

"Hush! The two of you must think I am a total idiot." 

Neither of them dared to answer, both unsure what to say to the prince. Merlin's imagination ran wild as he thought of all the ways this could end. He could be banished or worse. He didn’t want to leave Camelot, especially now that Gwaine had started to show interest in him. Maybe Gwaine would leave with him.

"Nothing to say for yourselves?" continued Arthur. "You both must think me an idiot if you think that I'm going to leave you two here alone with that gingerbread. Now. I'm sure you both have better things to do. And so do I. I need to get this to the king."

And with that, Arthur whipped the gingerbread up from the table and left them alone again in the room.

Merlin blinked in surprise after Arthur had left. That was it? No questions about the levitating loaf? Merlin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding: Arthur hadn’t seen the accidental magic. But now there was a more pressing issue at hand. Merlin slowly turned to Gwaine, wondering what he would find there. Gwaine was staring at the door, brow showing his confusion as well. But then he turned to Merlin, expression scarily neutral.  
“So, Merlin, care to explain what that was?”

"That was.... unexpected," Merlin said. "I think... Arthur just approved of us? And... did I mention yet... maybe... that I'm a super-important prophesied warlock bloke? I think... Arthur knows? So it's probably best if we discuss it. Maybe as we go on our date? I can almost guarantee you won't be burnt alive for consorting with a sorcerer. Probably." 

"Merlin, you're rambling." Gwaine smiled. "And I trust you." Gwaine took Merlin's hands and stared at them like he could see the magic through his skin. "Although how you managed to hide it this long confounds me, if all it took to reveal it was some gingerbread." He frowned. "It's actually kind of worrisome," he said, almost more of an afterthought.

"Why's that?" Merlin asked, though it was more a matter of /for which reason?/ given the number of them he could think of. 

“I would think that would be obvious.” He stepped closer to Merlin, and looked directly into his eyes. The exasperation and worry was plain on his face. “Merlin, how have you managed to stay alive when you used your magic so trivially, so thoughtlessly--just to save a piece of gingerbread?”

“Gwaine, I think...well...I think my magic is really smart. It knows who it can trust...and I suppose..well...I suppose it must really trust you...a lot.”

Gwaine grinned at him and slid his arms around Merlin’s waist. “Yeah? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’d enchanted me.” Merlin’s breath caught in his throat as Gwaine angled his chin up and he pressed his lips to Merlin’s in a soft embrace.

“I wouldn’t!” gasped Merlin against Gwaine’s lips. “I couldn’t!”

“I know, Merlin. I know,” said Gwaine before he deepened the kiss.


End file.
